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Story and photos by Kevser Ozel, University of Wisconsin
This year’s University of California-Riverside – USDA-ARS Nematode Trial Carrot Field Day was held on Aug. 26 in a M. incognita-infested field at the University of California-Riverside Coachella Valley Agricultural Research Station, where 360 entries were evaluated for resistance. Entries included inbreds, hybrids, mapping populations from the UCR-USDA Carrot Breeding Program and anonymous genotypes from the seed industry. Carrot community representatives from non-profit agencies, the seed industry, USDA and universities were invited to attend the harvest display, with national and international carrot researchers in attendance. This included a group of nematology faculty and students from the University of California-Riverside.
Despite being challenged by typical high temperatures of over 95 degrees Fahrenheit and high levels of uniformly distributed nematodes throughout the field, as confirmed by nematode-susceptible check plots, several cello, cut-and-peel and novel-colored carrot genotypes, as well as several entries from seed companies, demonstrated substantial nematode resistance, which highlighted the success of the extensive breeding efforts. The recently released nematode-resistant Nbh2306 advanced line displayed complete resistance in all replications across the field.
Genetic characterization studies are also underway by the UC-Riverside – USDA team to determine candidate genes contributing to resistance in different genetic backgrounds. Additionally, new molecular markers are currently being developed and tested to support the carrot community through marker-assisted selection.